Where Do I Find the Criteria for Approved Providers of My Counselor State Board? – Question Two

Question #1 was answered in a previous article, which was, “What is needed in continuing education for my professional license renewal?”, as it pertained to counselors. This article will address the question, “What are the criteria of my state board to approve CE providers?”, also pertaining to those licensed as counselors. This information will allow you to be more effective in searching for a CE provider. So, the first thing is you must know what your own CE requirements are, next step is finding out what the governing board require of those providing the CE courses.

That which is acceptable as approved continuing education will vary among state boards (as it pertains to independent providers). You should know how your state board defines what is an approved CE provider. Prior to discussing where to find the answer to this second question, let’s consider the three variations of what is considered an acceptable CE provider.

Some state boards require the CE provider to be approved by them directly. Providers will then have a unique provider number issued by the board of that state. For example, for Professional Counselors in Ohio, the provider you use must be approved by the The Counselor, Social Worker and Marriage and Family Therapist Board of Ohio and have been issued an RCX#. If your state board has this requirement, inquire from each CE provider the individually assigned number issued by your state board.

Some counselor state boards will honor continuing education earned from national board approved providers. For example, if the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC) grants approval to a provider than a Professional Counselor in Minnesota may use them to earn their continuing education. This national approval obtained by a provider allows them to offer continuing education courses to licensees in states that accept the NBCC approval.

Yet another scenario are those states that accept CE from providers who have been approved in another state for the same license type. For instance, in Colorado, a licensed counselor is able to obtain CE from a provider approved by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences (CA BBS), since the CA BBS now governs LPCCs. Now you have an understanding of what the states may accept regarding provider approvals, yet, how can you tell where you state falls in this spectrum?

You will want to begin at your state board’s official home page. Once on their site, look for a link for their rules, statutes, laws, or something similar. In this document you will want to go to the section for continuing education. Within this section will be a description on what the board views as acceptable venues for acquiring your CE. Counselors in Pennsylvania, be searching for the section labeled “Pre-approved providers of continuing education courses and programs for professional counselors”. This area will tell you which scenario described above your state board falls into (accepting a nationally approved provider, a provider approved in another state, or one that is approved by them only).

Once you have this knowledge you can begin your next quest of finding the best provider of continuing education. This information will make things easier going forward. Once at a provider’s site, look for their approvals. If finding out this information becomes too difficult, just move on to the next provider. My next article I will set out to answer the question “What amount of CE can I earn online?”. Be watching for it.

If you are a licensed Counselor wanting Counselor CEUs, visit AspiraCE at http://www.aspirace.com. AspiraCE is a provider of CE, board approved for Counselors throughout the US. AspiraCE has top-notch courses and excellent customer service with competitive pricing. Visit AspiraCE for your Counselor continuing education today!